- Car Accidents
One of the reasons a lot of people are afraid to meet with a Douglasville car accident lawyer is they fear it’ll cost too much. Most people who are involved in a serious car accident don’t have thousands of dollars to pay an attorney upfront. They’re worried about paying to get their car fixed. Or, if they’re out of work for a few weeks because of their injuries, they’ll need every penny to pay their bills.
The good news is that your Douglasville car accident lawyer won’t charge you a fee upfront. That just isn’t the way it’s done. This gives you a chance to meet with your attorney for free. It also allows you to pursue your lawsuit without worrying that it will eat up your savings. When your case is over, your attorney will take their percentage out of the settlement proceeds. If there are any fees that accrued during your case, they’ll be paid out of your settlement as well.
The only way to know for sure if you even have a case is to call and talk to a Douglasville car accident lawyer right away. The car accident lawyers at the Law Office of John B Jackson offer free consultations as well.
Douglasville Car Accident Lawyers Offer Clients a Free, Initial Consultation
The reason your attorney will offer a free consultation is to get an idea of what your case is worth. It also gives you a chance to decide if you want to hire a lawyer to handle your case. It’s a two-way street. The two of you need to make sure it’s a good fit before you proceed with any legal action. If your case is solid, your attorney will likely be willing to represent you. It’ll just be a matter of how you want to move forward.
Be Careful if Your Lawyer Tries to Charge You Fees Upfront
Car accident lawyers are considered personal injury lawyers. This means that they work on a contingency basis. If you don’t win your case, then your attorney isn’t paid a thing. If, on the other hand, your case settles or is paid in full, your Douglasville car accident lawyer will take their fee out of your settlement proceeds. If an attorney asks for a fee upfront, ask them why they’re requesting a fee. If they say it’s a retainer fee or something of that sort, you may want to look for another attorney.
A personal injury lawyer may offer to represent their client on an hourly basis. Or they may ask you to put a down payment on file to cover some of the filing fees your case will require. This is not typically how Douglasville car accident lawyers work. One of the tradeoffs your lawyer makes is that they get a percentage of your settlement in exchange for the risk of getting nothing.
Call and Talk to Seasoned Douglasville Car Accident Lawyer Today
People who are injured in a car accident come to see a lawyer for one reason – they want the person who hurt them held responsible. This means different things to different people. Some people say they want justice. For the most part, however, car accident victims just want compensation for their injuries. Douglasville car accident lawyers understand this. That’s why they offer their clients a free, initial consultation. This way, your lawyer can gauge the value of your case before they agree to represent you. They can’t afford to take on cases that don’t have a shot at winning. They wouldn’t be able to keep their firm open if that were the case.
What you need to do is talk to a seasoned car accident attorney as soon as possible after your accident. They can review your case and give you an idea of how much it’s worth. This will depend on a variety of things. First, it will depend on how serious your injuries are. If you break bones or need surgery, your damages will be higher than someone who only suffers a few bumps and bruises. Second, it will depend on what the defendant did. If it was an innocent mistake, then your Douglasville car accident lawyer will be limited to ordinary damages. If instead, the accident was intentional or the defendant acted recklessly, then your Douglasville car accident lawyer may seek punitive damages. The only way to know for sure is to talk to an experienced Douglasville auto accident lawyer.